For Scientists Engaged in Cancer Research in Countries Where Opportunities for Scientific Advancement and Career Development Are Limited

These grants will provide ten researchers with significant financial support for meeting registration, housing, travel, and incidentals for the Seventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, to be held in Washington, DC, USA from November 16-19, 2008. Recipients should plan to arrive one day prior to the meeting, on Saturday, November 15, 2008. Special events will be held and a network of mentors will be provided to assist the recipients during the meeting.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION

Application Packages

Applications must be submitted via e-mail to Mona Shater at mona.shater@aacr.org by Tuesday, September 16, 2008. The components of the application package include:

• Application Form (MS Word Format)
  Includes a 300-word description of the applicant's current research program, and a 300-word statement of how the applicant will apply the knowledge and experience gained through the attendance at the meeting to his or her research program after returning to the home country;
• Full Curriculum Vitae, in English, including publication history;
• Letter of Support from the candidate's department head or dean supporting the application.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Applicants must be nationals or permanent residents of and must reside and conduct cancer research within low and middle-income countries as defined by the World Bank; see list of eligible countries here.
• Applicants must hold an M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree.
• Applicants may be faculty at any level. Students (undergraduate, graduate or medical school) and postdoctoral or clinical fellows are not eligible.
• Applicants must be actively engaged in a program of cancer research.
  
• Applicants must have a record of cancer-focused publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Patient case reports are not applicable.
  
• Applicants do not need to submit an abstract for presentation at the meeting, though it is encouraged.
  
• Applicants do not need to be members of the AACR.
• Employees or subcontractors of private industry are not eligible.

Selection of the Grant Recipients

Complete application packages from applicants determined to be eligible will be sent to the Selection Committee for review. The Committee will make its selections based on the qualifications of the individual applicants, the special impact the program would have on the applicants' program of cancer research, and the tenet of promoting scientific and geographic diversity.

Notification

Applicants will be notified no later than 30 days prior to the meeting's start date. Notification of acceptance will be made separate from abstract acceptance, if an abstract has been submitted.

GRANT TERMS, FUNDS, AND CONDITIONS

Grant Terms

• It is the recipient’s responsibility to obtain the necessary travel documents, such as a passport and visa, to enter the United States. Upon request, the AACR will provide a letter detailing the recipient’s invitation to attend the meeting and the financial support afforded by the AACR to do so. However, the AACR cannot provide further assistance in negotiating the issuance of a visa.
• Grant recipients are expected to attend all days of the meeting and to participate in all events scheduled for grant recipients.
• Funds are to be used only for reasonable expenses related to the grant recipient’s participation in the meeting (see below). Funds may not be used for entertainment expenses (such as for tours or in-room movies), meals for other individuals, souvenirs, and other non-meeting expenses.

Grant Provisions

• Complimentary meeting registration fees.
• Coach-class (APEX) roundtrip air transportation provided through the AACR's authorized travel agency.
• Hotel accommodations for the duration of the meeting arranged by the AACR housing bureau.
• Stipend in the amount of US$300 for ground transportation, meals, and other meeting-related incidentals, provided on-site.
• Complimentary one-year AACR membership to include a complimentary online subscription to one AACR journal of the recipient’s choice.
• Reimbursement of visa application fee, upon submission of receipts.
• Complimentary Proceedings book.

Grant Conditions

• Recipients will be required to submit an evaluation, provided during the meeting. A report detailing how attendance at the meeting was beneficial to the grant recipient must be submitted to the AACR six months after the meeting.
• If the grant recipient is unable to attend the meeting or unable to obtain a visa or other required travel documents, the grant funds must be forfeited.